Francis c



BROWN. FOUNTAIN PEN.

(No Modelf) Patented Feb. 12, 1895.

ANo. 533,942.

THE wams Penas co.. Fumo-Limo.. wAsHlNaTnN. n. c.

NITED ,V STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`ERL-.Nels o. BROWN, OE NEW YORK, N; Y.

' FOUNTAIN-PEN'.

SPECIFICATION forming vpart of Letters Patent No. 533,942, dated February 12, 1895.

Appncaimpned May 21.11894. senti No. 511,955.y (No model.)

To a/Zlwhom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, FRANCIS CAsHEL BROWN, a citizen 'of the United States, residing in the city of New York, in the countyand State of New York, have invented. certain new and luseful Improvements in Fountain-Pens; and

I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. l,

My invention-.has relation to fountain pens,

Vand this class of pens as heretofore constructed presents disadvantages that are a source of great annoyance to those using the same, as

l' Well as offrequent injury to or soiling of wearing apparel, irrespective of the annoyance due to liability of soiling the fingers. It

has heretofore been found impossible to pro- ',vide a cap for the pen that is or will remain fluid tight, or that isso constructed as to prevent ink 'from the fount iiowing thereto, so that it is` necessary in placing the pen in the pocket of a garment t'o see that .the capped end is upward; otherwise the cap will fillwith ink, which is liable to ooze out at the cap joint. There isanother disadvantage inherent to the necessity of carrying the pen when lnot in use in the manner described, in that 'necessary to start a flow of ink, which'is usually done by imparting Ya jerking or sudden movement to the pen'in such manner as to expel a portion of the ink from the fount.

` My invention is designed to overcome these disadvantages and furthermore to materially simplify the construction of this class of pens, as will now be fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figures 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views at right angles to each other of fountain pens embodying my invention. 'Fig 3 is a front end view of Figs.l and 2, andFig. 4 is a cross section of the fount and the part B in rear of its'auxiliary feed slot b4.

Similar symbols of reference indicate like parts wherever such may occur in the figures of drawings just described.

Referring -to Fig. l, A indicates a tubular handle or holder, constructed of one piece` and .closed'at one eud,'o, said holder constituting the inkfonnt. B indicates the pen supporting bar, one end of which is secured centrally toy the closed end of the fount, The other end, B of the bar is also cylindrical in cross section and of such a diameter as tofit the open end of the fount A practically fiuid tight.

Said enlarged front end B of the bar B is slitted or slotted longitudinally to form a bearing for the pen P. In vpractice the slit or slot b is formed above the major axis of the/cylindrical portion, and ,segments thereof are cutl away to form a longitudinal ledge b', wherei byV air ducts, 2, 2, are formed on each side of the said cylindrical bodylbetween the vertical walls, 3, 3, the ledges or shelves b and the inner Walls of the fount A, as clearly shown in Fig. 3f'rom which it .will be seen that the 'cut-away portion extends below the slot b, wherebyy a central rib or bearing 4 isformed Vfor the under side of the shank of the pen R, s 1 which-is preferably U--shaped in cross section to fit said bearing snugly, the ledges b on opposite sides forming also bearings for the edges ofthe vertical sides of said pen shank.

Thetwo tongues b2 b3 formed by slotting the cylindrical portion are of such length that .when the pen is in proper position in the slot for use, the lower tongue will lterminate near ,the point of the pen, whereby a bottom feed Vis provided, said lower tongue being suitably `attenuated,`as shown in Fig. 2. However, the

upper tongue b2, may also be extended so as to project over the pen'P to near the point thereof, .whereby a top and bottom feed isv provided. In either case,I providetwo more IOO ting a socket a2 in said closed end. There is, however, another advantage in making the mouth of the fount flaring outwardly when the pen support has endwse motion in the fount, as hereinafter described,in which case the enlarged portion B acts more or less like a piston when drawn into the fount A, and when said fount is full, ink is liable to be forced out along the channels 2, so that unless the mouth of the fount is widened to receive such ink the latter would spill or run along the outside of the fount.

In a fountain pen constructed as shown in Fig. l, instead of supporting the pen P from a bar, B B', the portion B of said bar may be dispensed with, and the end B thereof fitted in the outer open end of the fount A, as will be readily understood.

A fountain pen constructed as described does not overcome the liability to leakage l at the cap C, nor preventink from entering the said cap when the penis carried in the pocket with the cap downward; the illustration being given chieiiy as a modification of construction, wherein the pen support is stationary, the construction being very simple and hence adapted for cheaper classes of goods.

In order to prevent ink flowing into the cap, and keep the pen moist with ink when not in use, that is to say, in order to adapt the pen to be carried in the pocket with the pen point down, I so arrange the pen support B as to have endwise motion in the fount A to an extent sufficient to withdraw the peu point completely into the fount, and construct the cap C with a central plug c that fits fluid tight into the open end of the fount A in front of the pen, thus forming an ink tight closure, the cap being provided with a stud c adapted to fit a socket in the closed end of the fount A, as hereinabove referred to. The cap C may also be constructed to screw on either end of the pen handle or stock, as will be readily understood.

Endwise motion can be imparted to the support Bin various ways. For instance, the fount A may be open-ended and screw-threaded interiorly at one end for the reception of an attenuated portion a3 of an auxiliary tubular section or extension A', into which the bar B projects, said attenuated portion a3 performing practically the function of a stufiing box to prevent the ink from entering the section A'. The latter section has two longitudinal slots a4 diametrically opposite each other, and on said section slides a ring R, to which is riveted or otherwise secured a cross pin p that passes through said slots and through the bar B.

It is obvious that by sliding the ring along section A in one or the other direction, the bar will be correspondingly moved to project the pen from, or withdraw it into the fount, the amplitude of motion of the bar being such that when at the limit of its movement toward the closed outer end a of section A',

from the mouth of the fount A to admit of the insertion of the above described plug for closing the fount when the pen is not in use.

It is obvious that when the pen is withdrawn into the fount, ink can be readily supplied thereto, but that the flow of inl; along the enlarged end of the bar may be expedited, I gradually widen the bore of the fount from its mouth inwardly, so as to provide, besides the channels 2, an annular channel b5 around the enlarged part B'. For the purpose of increasing the flow of ink to the pen whenever this is desired, I provide a groove or channel b4 in the under side of the enlarged portion B of bar B, which groove is of such length as not to communicate with the ink fount when the pen is fully projected, as shown in Fig. 2, a perfect closure of the inner end of the groove being obtained when the pen is in the position referred to. It is obvious that when the pen is moved in the fount until the end of groove b4 lies beyond the smaller diameter of the fount, said groove will be uncovered, and an additional quantity of air will flow into thefount through said groove b4 thereby correspondingly increasing the volume of ink flowing to the peu.

Any other means than those described for imparting endwise motion to the pen support may be resorted to, such means being well known and having been applied to pencil holders, and I do not desire to claim broadly any particular means for imparting endwise motion to the pen support.

In constructing the cap C, the central plug c may be made of the same length as the encompassin g tubular portion, but inasmuch as the end of the plug is in contact with the ink when the pen is carried with the point down, said end of the plug would be liable to soil the fingers in removing the cap, and for this reason Ipreferably make it shorter than the encompassing tubular portion, as shown.

Of course, instead of boring the fount so IIO that its interior diameter increases from a certain point inwardly, said fount may be made to taper outwardly, as will be readily understood.

The construction of the feed bar 13,13 may be materially simplified by forming the portion B nearly cylindrical, having a longitudinal rib 4: that serves as a bearing for the pen P, the lower tongue or feed bar b3 projecting from said body B', and being formed integral therewith, the upper tongue b3 being simply laid on the pen; and in order to securely hold the pen between the tongues, it may beriveted or stapled thereto.

I-Iaving thus described my invention,what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isM

l. In a fountain pen, a pen support comprising a solid cylindrical body having two tongues projecting therefrom the proximate faces of said tongues forming a bearing for and adapted to tit Vsnugly against the upper the body B thereof with the short groove b4, and under side of the pen, one or both tongues and means for imparting endwise motion to forming alfeed for the pen, and channels the pen support, for'the purpose set forth. i, formed in the oppositesides of said body and In testimony whereof I have hereto signed 5 extending fron the rear end thereof along my name in the presence of two Witnesses.

said bearing, `or the purpose set forth.

2. Afountain pen comprising an ink fount FRANCIS C' BROWN tapering to its open end and having aY Haring Witnesses: t mouth, a pen support, as B, B,'construeted HENRY ORTH,

to substantially as described and provided in f HENRY ORTH, Jr.v 

